Hospital Closure Affecting EMS

Back in October, the La Grange Rotary Club and Colorado Valley Telephone Cooperative partnered with Fayette County EMS to provide scholarships for paramedic students. Pictured above are (back, from left) Fayette County EMS Director Josh Vandever, paramedic student Rebecca Spooner, Kyle Hartmann of La Grange Rotary Club and CVTC General Manager Kelly Allison, (front) Fayette County Commissioners Court, Drew Brossmann, Harvey Berckenhoff, Judge Dan Mueller, Luke Sternadel, Jason McBroom. File photo by Andy Behlen

As we approach the conclusion of another impactful year, Fayette County Emergency Medical Services (FCEMS) is pleased to present our Year-End Report, summarizing the key achievements, challenges, and advancements experienced throughout the past 12 months. This report provides a valuable insight into the dynamic and vital role our FCEMS team plays in ensuring the health and safety of our county.

Response Data

FCEMS Responded to just over 4,000 calls for service in 2023 about 200 calls for service lower than the year prior. The slight decrease in call volume was counteracted by the significant increase in unithour- utilization (UHU) and time on task for our team that came about with the demise of Saint Mark’s Medical Center.

In 2022 almost 50% of our patients were transported to Saint Mark’s. Due to their reduction in services in January of this year, only about 22.2 percent of our patients went there due to the potential need for inpatient services not available locally. Since their closure, Columbus Community Hospital (CCH) and Seton Smithville Medical Center have seen about 27% of our patients (each). Lavaca Medical Center (LMC) is capturing about 10%, Scott and White Brenham is seeing about 5%, with the remainder being transported to Hospitals in Austin and Houston (predominantly Austin).

CCH and Seton Smithville have seen their patient volume from our service triple, while LMC and Scott and White in Brenham have seen their numbers quadruple. In short, all of our regional hospitals have seen an increase in volume as a result of the hospital’s closure.

These increased distances that our crews are traveling to take patients to hospitals further away, has resulted in approximately 58,967 miles per year being put on our fleet. A fleet which was already getting taxed with miles as it was. In fact, the newest ambulance, delivered this year, already has 33,000 miles on it and it went into service in March. Our oldest ambulance has 279,227 miles on it and is still in service, running calls today.

Training and Personal Development

FCEMS has been successful in becoming a licensed continuing education provider with the State of Texas and has also worked internally to be able to provide course offerings through the National Association of EMTs and through the American Heart Association such as Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support, Emergency Pediatric Care, Tactical Emergency Casualty Care and many more courses which are in high demand in our region. Being able to offer them internally, we offset quite a bit of cost compared to sending people elsewhere for the training. We are also hopeful that these course offerings become a source of revenue for the county and have already started to see some of those benefits come to fruition.

We are also elated to share the accomplishments of many of the members on our team. Lt. Rebecca Spooner, Lt. Bradley Wunderlich, Shelanie Luther, Taylor Spackman, Preston McGrew, and Karley Wyngaard have all successfully achieved their Paramedic Certifications. Several more of our team members are at the tail end of their training and hope to be finished soon.

The addition of Assistant EMS Director, Gary Daniels to our team was a huge milestone in the future success of our organization. Chief Daniels has hit the ground running and his impacts on our department are already easily noticeable. Join me in thanking him for his service to our community.

Community Outreach, Collaboration and Partnerships In my personal and professional capacities, I’ve been happy to represent Fayette County EMS in speaking engagements with several local organizations. Be it the Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, Hermann Sons, Young Farmers, etc. It has truly been a joy to share the mission, vision and goals of Fayette County EMS with those groups and I hope to continue to do so in the following year.

It has also been wonderful participating in the Fayette Community Foundation’s Red Door Fund for Mental Health and Green Door Fund for workforce development. The work both of these groups are doing to help strengthen the future of our community is nothing short of inspirational.

We have provided CPR classes to several companies and individuals throughout the county over the year and that, as always has been rewarding both financially for our county’s budget and from the perspective that every time someone is trained in our community to provide these lifesaving skills, we add to a layer of safety for those living and traveling through.

Through Partnership with the City of La Grange, our electric provider and the LCRA, we were given a grant to purchase a new ATV for standbys at events where an ambulance may be less than ideal to accomplish the goal at hand. FCEMS provided Advanced Live Support Standby Services at over 54 events in the county this year.

As we reflect on the achievements and challenges of the past year, this Year-End Report serves as a testament to the dedication, resilience, and professionalism of our FCEMS team. Our commitment to excellence remains unwavering as we look forward to another year of serving and safeguarding our community. With the support of the Commissioners and County Judge, we hope to continue to address the challenges facing our county in the next year. We are striving to shore up the vast amount of successes that we have achieved over the last three years and provide stability and continuity of care in this county for years to come. We would also be remiss to not thank each and every one of our tax-paying citizens for their contributions to our service’s success. We are committed to keeping you and your families well and serving this county in the most compassionate, respectful and dignified manner possible.